Systems for managing financial risk have taken many forms. Credit card companies routinely monitor transactions watching for fraudulent behavior. Credit limits are based on past performance with respect to spending and bill payment. Individuals and companies with good credit histories may be afforded higher credit limits and more lenient policies with respect to use of a credit line. In many of these cases, each transaction is analyzed and approved on a transaction by transaction basis. Further, in many instances the actual financial instrument is relatively inexpensive, for example, a plastic credit card may cost less than a dime. In other instances, for example, a cellular telephone system, the cellular phone may have some value but may be rendered essentially useless when access to the network is denied.
However, in the case of a pay-per-use or pay-as-you-go computer, the asset, that is the computer, has high value and may offer valuable functionality even when disconnected from a network. Analyzing, measuring, and controlling risk on such a platform presents unique challenges to risk management.